Chorizo

The craving for chorizo is just as evident in its adopted home of Mexico as it is in its original home of Spain, and in both countries the cuisine would be unimaginable without the sausage. The main difference between the two is the use of the more potent chile in the Mexican chorizo and the milder dried pimiento in the Spanish sausage.

Over the years, I have spent time in and around Toluca, the capital of the state of Mexico, where a conclave of Spanish settlers introduced pigs into this high valley. The Spanish historian Carlo Cereya suggests that "although the horse was of real significance in the conquest, the hog was of greater importance and contributed to a degree that defies exaggeration." Here, the Spaniards began making their beloved sausage, soon adapting it to local culture by adding chile. One of the main features of the huge, rambling Friday Mercado Juárez (now moved from its longtime site) is stalls cascading with ropes of both red and herb green chorizos, the latter a more recent version. Some of the chorizos verdes glisten with an almost-brilliant green artificial coloring and are to be shunned.

This recipe for traditional red chorizo is an adaptation of a recipe used by one of the leading sausage makers in Toluca, second-generation Jorge Figueroa, who makes it in voluminous quantities to sell to the throngs of waiting customers at his family shop, Carnicería La Figueroa. Ricardo and I use chorizo in a wide variety of dishes, from Frijoles Puercos con Chorizo to Tinga de Cerdo.

Although chorizo is usually stuffed into pork casings, it is a lot less work to make it in bulk and freeze what is not needed right away. I have provided directions for both links and bulk here. If you opt for links, you will probably need to special order the casings (salted, well-cleaned small pig intestines) from a butcher. Do not be deterred and use synthetic casings, as they are not satisfactory.

Preparation

FOR THE CHORIZO:

Soak the chiles in a bowl in very hot water to cover until soft, about 15 minutes. Drain the chiles, tear into smaller pieces, and return to the bowl. Add the vinegar and marinate for 45 minutes, stirring from time to time. Transfer the chiles and vinegar to a blender and process until smooth, adding a bit more vinegar only if needed to release the blades.

Put the pork, pork fat, and garlic in a large bowl and toss until crumbled and well mixed. Add the pureed chiles, oregano, salt, pepper, thyme, allspice, cloves, and perhaps the tequila. Thoroughly squish together all of the ingredients with your hands. Fry a spoonful in a small skillet until thoroughly cooked, taste, and add more salt if needed. Cover the bowl tightly and cure in the refrigerator for at least 1 day and preferably for 3 days, occasionally turning the mixture so the flavors are well blended. At this point, the chorizo can be divided into smaller batches, some to be used immediately in various dishes and others that can be frozen for up to 3 months. If you want, this is also the time to stuff some or all of the meat mixture into casings.

FOR THE LINKS:

If you are making links with only some of the chorizo, you will not need all of the casings. Rinse the casings in cool water to remove the salt, then soak them in water to cover mixed with the vinegar for 30 minutes. As you remove the casings from the water, cut in half. Squeeze closed one end of a length and fill the opposite end with water to make sure there are no leaks. If there is a puncture, cut the casing on both sides of the puncture, tie a double knot at one end of each length, and press any water out the other end.

Here now is the real challenge, and the fun: stuffing the filling into the casings. It can be done with just a funnel and any round, flat-ended piece of wood that fits into the opening. But, as always, fingers are the best.

Carefully smooth the open end of the casing over the funnel, pushing it as far up as it will easily go. Before adding the meat mixture, hold the funnel upright and press the casing to remove any excess air. Now, stuff some of the chorizo into the funnel, pushing as much of it as you can down into the casing and adding enough to make a firm package but leaving a little empty space at the end to make another double knot. Twist and tie every 3 1/2 to 4 inches with burlap-type string or narrow strips of dried corn husk. Diana Kennedy, from whom I have learned so much, always waits until she has filled the whole casing and then ties it off to make sure that all of the space is filled.

Hang the links to dry at room temperature for 3 days, then cover and refrigerate and continue to dry for several more days. The links will keep for several weeks in the refrigerator or they can be frozen for a few months.

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I will definitely keep making this recipe for my family my sister loved it so much it was kind of hard because I can't really cook, but I'm glad I have the recipe to look at so that I can keep making chorizo thank you so much.